Microsoft releases Windows Vista test

REDMOND, Wash. — Microsoft Corp. on Tuesday released test versions of its Windows Vista and Office 2007 products, moving a step closer to getting the programs in stores by January.

A test version of Windows Longhorn server for corporate networks is also being made available, Microsoft said. Vista's second test version, or beta, is critical in determining whether engineers have made enough progress to meet the January retail release date.

Microsoft has said it would need to delay the retail availability that had been planned for this year, and analysts are worried that the release of Vista will slip further into 2007. Windows is Microsoft's biggest and most profitable product, and the two-year delay in Vista has eroded sales growth.

"If the beta isn't stable enough for enough testers to feel comfortable using it, then Microsoft likely won't get the feedback they need in order to finish testing and ship the product on time," said Michael Cherry, an analyst at Directions on Microsoft, a Kirkland, Wash.-based market research firm.

Previous tests, including some earlier this year, have been unstable and difficult to use, Cherry said.